The future is happening today!
There will always be a dynamic tension between what has been and what will be. It has been my responsibility to work through reorganization of our denomination's international headquarters, a change toward a strategic missional structure. One of our highly regarded directors wrote me a letter that may be helpful to you:
“After a day or so of worrying, doing a little bit of whining, some complaining, and generally feeling sorry for myself, I have come out of the other side of this change in pretty good shape. As I journeyed through Henry Nouwen's book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, the Lord allowed me to see myself in the picture (of the elder son). I was confronted with why I do what I do and the failures in my own life to live up to the privileges I have and to live in the celebration of what God has done for me. I saw my own self-centeredness and lack of trusting God that had crept into my life and made these last few days difficult. The Lord met with me and opened my eyes to a new reality. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing.
“The boundaries have fallen in good places in my life. I lost sight of that. But I once again see hope and am challenged by what lies ahead. These last few days have been good days, as I have begun to look to the future and put together plans that I believe will help us accomplish our ministry objectives.”
We have given all our headquarter's leaders a little book titled Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson. It is a simple parable that reveals profound truths about change. In your role as a meeting planner/provider professional, remember that change happens. We must anticipate change, enjoy and embrace it, with an attitude of readiness as “they keep moving our cheese.”
